Mr. Towns (for
himself, Mr. Allen,
Mr. Bartlett of Maryland,
Mr. Braley of Iowa,
Mr. Langevin,
Mr. Reichert,
Mr. Campbell of California, and
Mrs. Bono Mack) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in
addition to the Committees on Ways and
Means and Foreign
Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To prohibit the conducting of invasive research on great
apes, and for other purposes.

Great apes are
highly intelligent and social animals and research laboratory environments
involving invasive research cannot meet their complex social and psychological
needs.

(3)

Confinement of
great apes for purposes of invasive research causes these intelligent and
sentient animals to experience harmful stress and suffering, such as profound
depression and withdrawal, self mutilation that can result in physical
wounding, hair pulling, rocking, and other traumatized or psychotic
behaviors.

(4)

Invasive research
performed on great apes, and the breeding of great apes for these purposes, are
economic in nature and substantially affect interstate commerce.

(5)

The majority of
invasive research and testing conducted on great apes in the United States is
for the end purpose of developing drugs, pharmaceuticals, and other products to
be sold in the interstate market.

(6)

The total costs
associated with great ape research have a direct economic impact on interstate
commerce.

(7)

Care in a research
laboratory for a single great ape over the lifespan of the great ape of more
than 50 years can cost between $300,000 and $500,000, compared to an
approximate cost of $275,000 for high quality care in a sanctuary.

(8)

An
overwhelming majority of invasive research procedures performed on great apes
involve some element of interstate commerce, such that great apes, equipment,
and researchers have traveled across state lines.

(9)

The regulation of
animals and activities as provided in this Act are necessary to effectively
regulate interstate and foreign commerce.

(10)

Australia,
Austria, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom
have banned or severely limited experiments on great apes and several other
countries and the European Union are considering similar bans as well.

(11)

The National
Research Council (NRC) report entitled Chimpanzees in Research and
Strategies for their Ethical Care, Management, and Use, concluded
that—

(A)

there is a
moral responsibility for the long-term care of chimpanzees used
for scientific research;

(B)

there should be a
moratorium on further chimpanzee breeding;

(C)

euthanasia as a
means of general chimpanzee population control is unacceptable; and

(D)

sanctuaries should
be created to house chimpanzees in a manner consistent with high standards of
lifetime care, social enrichment, and cognitive development.

(12)

In December 2000,
the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection (CHIMP) Act was
signed into law, requiring the Federal Government to provide for permanent
retirement of chimpanzees who are identified as no longer
being needed in research.

(13)

In May 2007, the
National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Research Resources’ (NCRR)
decided to permanently end funding for the breeding of Government-owned
chimpanzees for research.

(b)

Purposes

The
purpose of this Act is to—

(1)

prohibit invasive
research and the funding of such research both within and outside of the United
States on great apes;

(2)

prohibit the
transport of great apes for purposes of invasive research;

(3)

prohibit the
breeding of great apes for purposes of invasive research; and

(4)

require the
permanent retirement of federally owned great apes.

3.

Prohibitions

(a)

Invasive
research prohibition

No person shall conduct invasive research on
a great ape.

(b)

Federal funding
prohibition

No Federal funds may be used to conduct invasive
research on a great ape.

(c)

Transport
prohibition

No person shall knowingly import, export, transport,
move, deliver, receive, possess, rent, loan, purchase, or sell a great ape for
the purpose of conducting invasive research on such great ape.

(d)

Breeding
prohibition

No person shall breed a great ape for use in invasive
research.

(e)

Exemption

Nothing
in this Act shall be construed to limit or prevent individualized medical care
performed on a great ape by a licensed veterinarian for the benefit of the
great ape.

4.

Retirement

(a)

In
general

Subject to subsection
(b), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide for the permanent
retirement of all great apes owned or under the control of the Federal
Government that have been used for invasive research.

(b)

Exception

The Secretary of Health and Human Services
may provide for the euthanizing of a great ape owned or under the control of
the Federal Government that has been used for invasive research if euthanasia
is in the best interests of such great ape, as determined by an attending
veterinarian and endorsed by a second, unaffiliated veterinarian.

5.

Definitions

In this Act:

(a)

Great
ape

The term great ape includes a chimpanzee,
gorilla, bonobo, orangutan, or gibbon.

(b)

Invasive
research

The term invasive research—

(1)

means any
experimental research that may cause death, bodily injury, pain, distress,
fear, injury, or trauma to a great ape, including—

(A)

the testing of any
drug or intentional exposure to a substance that may be detrimental to the
health of a great ape;

(B)

research that
involves penetrating or cutting the body or removing body parts, restraining,
tranquilizing, or anesthetizing a great ape; or

(C)

isolation, social
deprivation, or other experimental physical manipulations that may be
detrimental to the health or psychological well-being of a great ape;
and

(2)

does not
include—

(A)

close observation
of natural or voluntary behavior of a great ape, provided that the research
does not require removal of the great ape from the social group or environment
of such great ape or require an anesthetic or sedation event to collect data or
record observations; or

(B)

post-mortem
examination of a great ape following the natural death of such great
ape.

(c)

Permanent
retirement

The term permanent retirement—

(1)

means that a great
ape is placed in a suitable sanctuary that will provide for the lifetime care
of the great ape and such great ape will not be used in further invasive
research; and

(2)

does not include
euthanasia.

(d)

Person

The
term person means—

(1)

an individual,
corporation, partnership, trust, association, or any other private
entity,

(2)

any officer,
employee, agent, department, or instrumentality of the Federal Government, a
State, municipality, or political subdivision of a State; or

(3)

any other entity
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(e)

Suitable
sanctuary

The term suitable sanctuary means—

(1)

the system referred
to in section 481C(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 287a-3a(a));
or

(2)

a
comparable privately funded sanctuary approved by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services.

6.

Effective
date

This Act shall take
effect on the date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act.